Loverboy (2005)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Of course, my love for Matt Dillon makes it impossible for me to dislike ANY movie he is in. But my problem is with the disconnects in this movie, which may be deliberate. Where did the sweet neighbor of the disturbed mother's childhood move? Why was she as dismissive of her son as Kyra's parents were of her, the 'normal' one not the mentally damaged one, and what's with the unmarked poison bottle that destroyed her child's brains? Why does Matt show up and then disappear? Was he supposed to impregnate Kyra because he reminded her son of 'his father', whom he had never met?Great acting by all involved, but as I watched Danny Glover as the island neighbor, I couldn't help but think of the "The Saint of Monument Ave", that movie about the homeless pair, Danny and a mentally impaired Matt Dillon. You can't say he doesn't choose a wide variety of roles. It disturbed me that I couldn't find a review of this movie in the latest movie review books. The reason perhaps that critics found problems with the score was that it featured nepotism, Kevin Bacon's brother. No puzzle about why it was sub-par. The movie, for us who grew up in the 60s, features the neglect, inadvertent, by hippie parents who loved love, but forgot about the nurturing needed by their own kids, as they became the 'love generation', which segued into the 'Me' generation of the 70s. Funny how that works. And now, our kids' kids are raised by child care institutions, safe and sterile. Great movie about the effect of neglect on following generations.

An overblown telemovie which would have actually benefited from commercial breaks, if for no other reason than to intercut with any sort of livelier action, of which this feature is in dire deficit. It starts with a vector - the introduction into the story is absorbing enough, and Sedgwick does have a commanding screen presence, her almost Desperate Housewives-like voice over and undeniable sex appeal giving the on-screen action some cooler distance and electricity. The set up is actually reminiscent of a film-noir - we're made to expect some sort of a plot and some veritable action from the heroine. Forty minutes into the film, however, you can't but ask yourself - where is this bleedin' thing going already? Tangential characters come and go yet we're not moving much - in fact we seem to be stuck with Emily and her not particularly escalating madness - not in any real sense, she's just plain nuts from the word go - until the flashback action is tied "neatly" together and we learn that she's decided to end it all for herself and her little brat (who incidentally pulls a hundred too many faces and cannot act at all, ruining every moment of his screen time as well as Sedgwick's entire valiant effort). Annoyingly, we also get to hear a horrendous karaoke pseudo-rendition of John Paul Young's "Love Is In The Air" several times over during the more embarrassing scenes, as well as other loud incidental music which occasionally drowns the whispering dialogue - er, WHAT did she just mumble? - and the only few scenes of real chemistry are between Sandra Bullock and young Emily. That also goes nowhere.A completely uninteresting story about one sad and lonely but arrogant woman suffering from social maladaption who proceeds to become an unhappy, crazed mother whom you just want to slap in the face and bring to her senses during most of this film's relatively short running time. Unless you recognise yourself in the leading role, or work for the social services, there's no other reason why you should watch this. A very weird screen debut from Bacon the director, I can't say I'll be watching any of his future efforts any time soon.

I get the point of the movie, Kyra plays the neglected child of the self absorbed and sex crazed Kevin and Marissa. I just found it rather poorly written and unnecessarily sexual for these characters. I mean, do we really need to SEE her have sex with half a dozen men in half a dozen places to get the point that she wants to get pregnant? I love Sandra, Kyra and Kevin and Marissa....but this movie was sadly beneath any of their talents. I am happy, however that Kevin Bacan is so thrilled with his wife's fabulous body. I guess that to me was a little weird as well, knowing her husband was the director of all of her sex scenes. Not only was the movie twisted, but the director and cast as well.

The problem with this film is that it tries to do too much. It is basically an attempt to describe the intergenerational dysfunctionality of the family of the main character, played ably at times by Kyra Sedgwick. Nevertheless, there are other moments when this female character, who is otherwise clearly possessed by numerous demons, just comes across as plain silly. Silliness isn't necessarily out of tune with what is really happening in this complex, but poorly-told tale; Kyra Sedwick's "parents" in the film are also silly, goofing around until the poignant moment when they realise their 10-year-old daughter singing David Bowie's "Life on Mars" acapella at her school's end-of-year show, is a reference to their freakishness. But the real, deep, important questions the movie raises are left frustratingly unaddressed and unanswered: how can two people who are so crazy about one another ignore the fruit of their love? When does a mother's love turn from genuine care into stifling, morbid possessiveness? At one point, the mother is trying to defend her refusal to let her son attend school by quoting Emerson and Alessandra Montessori; but it is never really clear just what it is she actually dreams for her son, other than always having him by her side. She confesses to the viewer, "I admit, I encouraged arrogance" in her son, but the boy is the only reasonable one of the pair, showing behaviour of a maturity beyond his years. All this confuses the film's audience even further. Perhaps the fact itself that the movie asks these questions is to it's credit; but it ultimately fails to deliver on it's promise.